The movie set was built in the late 50's by actor John Wayne for a movie he wanted to make about an iconic Texas landmark.

Ok, well not the landmark so much as the famous battle fought on its grounds. A battle known worldwide for its brutality, its heroes, its role in Texas' march toward independence and a classic rallying cry.

Remember the Alamo.

John Wayne directed the 1960 version of The Alamo. They used 400 acres near Brackettville, which is West of San Antonio, and they created a replica Alamo village. And it was constructed by this guy James T. “Happy” Shahan, and this was the first movie set built in Texas back in 1957. - tpwd.texas.gov

The Alamo did pretty well at the box office while another Alamo related film, shot in another part of Texas and released in 2004, pretty much flopped.

The John Wayne set, known as Alamo Village, was also used for other productions like Lonesome Dove, Bad Girls and several other Alamo-related projects.

Sadly, Alamo Village is no longer open to the public.

Alamo Village featured an exact replica of the Alamo as it would have looked in 1836, the year the famous battle took place. It almost didn't happen though.

According to wikipedia, the sets were initially just gong to be "false fronts" instead of entire buildings but Wayne ran out of money. Shahan agreed to keep working while Wayne stalked investors IF Wayne would allow for full buildings instead of facades and Wayne went for it.

Several other movie sets in Texas have been left to rot as well. Check out a few of them in this video.

Buildings Lost Or Demolished In El Paso